Many Church Management Software solutions (ChMS or sometimes CMS) are packages that have to install directly on your church computer.While these church management tools have been a staple in churches for years, the best ChMS products on the market are all based online.If your church is still using a pc-based church management software, you might be wondering, “Why choose a web-based ChMS for my church?”Here are 5 reasons you should consider upgrading to a web based church management software:

1) Everywhere-Access – This is the biggest reason of all. When you go web-based, you are no longer tied to one computer or the few computers on your network. You can ask volunteers to help with data entry, but now they don’t have to come to the church to do it; they can do their volunteer work from home, the coffee shop, or anywhere they have internet access. When you find yourself needing to call a church member, but you’re not in the office, you can easily login to your web-based ChMS and find their phone number. Best of all, you’ll finally be able to take a sledge hammer to that old computer that your traditional ChMS has been running on since 1987. Admit it, you’ve been wanting to smash that thing for years!

2) Data-Reliability – What happens if the computer your traditional ChMS is on goes down? What if the hard-drive crashes and the data is irretrievable? Your church may have a policy for backing up this computer regularly, but what if someone forgets? With online church management software you don’t have to worry about data loss. The company providing your ChMS has redundant servers (or at least should have) to protect your data and make sure nothing happens to it. Churchteams is a company you can trust to keep your data safe.

3) Tablets and Smartphones – Phones and tablets today have more computing power than the warehouse-sized computers used to send astronauts to the moon in 1969. That’s why everywhere you look people are glued to their small-screens. These devices are everywhere and they are being used for countless purposes. Why wouldn’t a church want to redeem the use of these technological wonders with a ChMS product? I can’t think of a reason. Web-based church management software gives you the ability to leverage the power and accessibility of tablets and smartphones.

4) Social Media Integration – Social Media is the new normal. I went on a mission trip to Guatemala in 2012 and the teenagers there wanted to friend me on Facebook. My mom, who is over 80 years old, is a social media fanatic. Yup…it’s the new normal. Online church management software can tie directly into the most popular social media outlets giving you more ways to communicate with your community. Not all web-based ChMS companies provide this, but the best do!

5) Affordability – All these advantages sound like they might add up to big dollars. And frankly, sometimes they do. There are web-based Church Management software companies who charge a ton for their services. Some do not. You might immediately think, “Well, you get what you pay for.” In today’s marketplace that old saying has become truly obsolete. Think about how much value is added to your life by some 99 cent smartphone apps. Because of technology and accessibility, costs don’t have to be artificially inflated! Churchteams is the most value-packed Church Management System on the market today. They include all the best features of their competitors at the most competitive prices possible. Some people wonder why Churchteams remains so affordable. The answer to that question is found in two of the company’s core values: “Generosity” and “Ministry First”. From day one, Churchteams has been committed to making products that churches can use at a reasonable price.

So those are the top 5 reasons to “Go Web” with your church management. What else would you add to the list?

Alan Danielson is the Senior Pastor of New Life Bible Church in Norman, Oklahoma. Previously he served as Central Team Leader for LifeGroups at LifeChurch.tv in Edmond, OK, where he led over a thousand small groups on LifeChurch’s thirteen campuses in six different states. He then founded 3Threat.net to help leaders master three essential leadership skills: vision-casting, creating strategy and fostering relationships. Alan is a popular conference speaker and consults regularly with ministries and leaders on topics relating to small groups and leadership. Learn more from Alan at 3Threat.net.